Men said to be posing as homeless beggars are earning £26,000 a year on one UK street.

Police are warning members of the public not to hand over cash to at least three males they believe are duping passers-by.

At least one of the "street beggars" earns more than £100 a day - which works out at around £26,000 a year, the Hull Daily Mail reported.

Shopkeepers on Holderness Road in Hull say the beggars are "taking advantage" of people's good nature, with many of those donating being elderly.

The trader, who did not want to be named, said: "One man tends to sit across the road from here a lot of the days. He takes all the pound coins he collects during the day and gets one of the local restaurants to change them into notes.

"It's awful really because he's taking advantage of vulnerable people. Many of them are elderly. Half of the time you're able to see his flat from where he's sat.

The street in Hull (Image: HullDailyMail/ WS)

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Nick Byrnie, manager of a butcher's shop in Holderness Road, said: "There's one guy who sits nearby and he's clean shaven every day. He's not grubby-looking at all as you'd expect if he was genuinely homeless. He has a house down one of the residential streets."

The police have warned people not to give money to the beggars, saying in a tweet: "Please be aware that the three males who are regularly seen on Holderness Road asking for spare change are not homeless and one of the males regularly earns over £100 a day.

"If you are asked for money please call 101 and report it to us."

The police warning comes as it has emerged Hull City Council have issued an anti-social behaviour injunction against Mark Noble, who is forbidden from begging in Hull.

Mark Noble has been banned from begging (Image: HullDailyMail/ WS)

Members of the public have been warned about Mark Noble (Image: HullDailyMail/ WS)

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Mr Noble was hailed a hero when he saved a stranger's baby from falling out of a pram in October last year.

But the local authority's notice, which has been issued to shops, makes it clear that he is banned from begging. The injunction is currently due to expire in July 2018.

It is not known whether Mr Noble is one of the men referred to by the police in their warning, or whether he begs in Holderness Road and earns £100 a day by these means. A force spokesman said Humberside Police would not comment on individual cases.

Drypool ward councillor Adam Williams said the problem was one which had been flagged up to him repeatedly.

"We've raised this with the local police team a number of times and they're well aware of the individuals involved," he said. "It's difficult because there are genuine cases out there of people who are homeless.